Switzerland is an amazing country that has a lot to offer and we love to explore new places within this country as often as possible. When we don't travel abroad we pick a place on the map and go. We try to stay in the German region, but when it's a longer weekend we enjoy travelling further down to the French or Italian part as well.
A few weeks ago, we spent a day in Burgdorf. It's a small charming town in the canton of Bern and it's situated in a valley of the river Emme. It is also known as the gateway to the Emmental and the famous cheese is made only a few kilometres away from Burgdorf.
Its medieval old town is full of cobblestone streets and old buildings with typical architecture of this region. You can find similar buildings in Bern as well. It is nestled between hills and you have to climb quite a few stairs in certain parts of the old town.
We came here on Saturday which is the day when farmers markets are held in Switzerland. We came just before lunch, and therefore we could still see some of the stalls.
Most of them were selling fruits and vegetables, or traditional items from the region. We saw some herbal teas, dried herbs, wooden items, or jams. I really liked it as it didn't look like a regular Saturday's market. In Schaffhausen, you can find such special products only on special occasions, such as Christmas or Easter.
We found a small restaurant as we were hungry, and after lunch we did a small tour of the old town. We came across houses with painted facades that are typical for Switzerland, charming corners, narrow streets, decorated balconies, fountains and many restaurants and bars.
I liked this kind of a bridge between two houses. I walked around those buildings and tried to find out if there are home to some institution, but I couldn't find anything. Maybe it's simply a connection between two residential houses, but I'm not so sure.
These arches are typical for the canton of Bern. When you come to Bern (city) you will notice that such arches are on every building on two main streets.
There are apartments above them, and inside there could be either shops or restaurants/bistros. Some restaurants have terraces under those arches and it's really pretty. You can sit there regardless of the weather as you're protected from sun, rain as well as snow. Some of the buildings even have basements which you can enter directly from the street.
The streets were clean, and there were almost no people. The weather was great and I think that people preferred to go to the Alps that are only about 30 minutes drive from Burgdorf.
Here we can see how it looks like under the arches. There was a café in the back, but I couldn't take a better photo of the terrace as there were people sitting there.
It's interesting to see that each region has some specific type of architecture. You can't find such houses in Schaffhausen.
This was my favourite place. It's called Marktlaube and it's a historical landmark in the old town. It was renovated in 1985 when some parts from the 13th century were found. Burgdorf dates back to the 12th century (or even earlier) and it had an important role in the medieval Switzerland.
We looked around Marktlaube and continued our tour. We saw an old church located on top of a hill, so we walked in that direction.
On the way, we came across this sculpture but I couldn't find any information written around it. I can only guess that it's a mother playing with her daughter.
And this is how it looks like when you're on the hill...
Many houses have these cute external shutters which you close in the same way like a window. They are also on many older residential buildings.
We are getting closer to the church...
Here we are! It doesn't look that old but it's more than 500 years old! It is the largest building in Burgdorf. Let's go inside!
The pathway around the church provides beautiful views of Burgdorf and its surroundings.
Interior of the church is simple. This is typical for reformed churches in Switzerland. There are only a couple of decorations and I think that the most impressive part is its stained glass windows. They are in red and purple tones and bring colourful lights to the church when it's sunny outside.
Another interesting part was the balcony with the organ. It's a typical Gothic construction.
From the church we walked back down to the city because it was getting late and we were hungry again.
The church from the other side...
And we're getting closer to the streets where we visited the stalls earlier.
Coat of arms of Bern includes a bear, and you can see it in many places in the canton.
And we're back! We found a small place with local food. The owner was very nice and offered to make some special meals for us. She advised us on special teas and offered us her raw cakes. We ordered season soup with carrots, pumpkin and beetroot, and some green salad. It was delicious!
Once we finished our early dinner it was time to go back home...
Until the next time...